


Ancient Stems: Eli Week 2018

by JessKo



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Actual Thranto in others :), But its Thrawn so its very sneaky, Buzz Droids, Eliweek, Gen, Implied Thranto for some chapters, Lysatran Memories, Marriage Proposal, also hair styling gone... strange?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-07-13 19:57:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16024913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessKo/pseuds/JessKo
Summary: Eli Week 2018 Prompt Drabbles!These will follow a narrative of some of Eli's early times serving as Aide to Thrawn. Lots of buzz droid repairs and recollections ahead! (Chapters 1-4)Chapters 5-7 are slice of life style one shots following Eli.





	1. Day 1: Family/Friendships/Relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small Drabble about Eli’s past friendships at Myomar.

Ensign Eli Vanto finished his caf, looking across the small mess. Fellow Imperial officers were completing their meals and preparing to leave for their posts, chattering lightly amongst themselves. 

 

Mornings had become mostly solitary for Eli with Lieutenant Thrawn now spending every free moment working on his Buzz Droid repairs. In the majority of these times, Eli would be on hand to pass along tools or translate technical terms from manuals for Thrawn, but he would take his leave for his morning meal he now pushed around the plate. The protein mush was unappetizing at best, even when drenched in salt.

 

Staring down at the yellowish-grey mass, Eli’s mind wandered to his days at Myomar Imperial Academy, before becoming attached at the hip to the Thrawn as aide and translator. His thoughts lingered on a memory of a friend.

 

At Myomar, Eli had not been popular by any means, but he was comfortable being surrounded by beings of similar upbringing in Wild Space and the Outer Rim. There was none of the core world prejudice he and his father often faced in their shipping business. Eli mostly kept to himself, and in doing this he made many observations of those around him. He easily identified his fellow introverts, and made a few close friends. One stood out in particular this morning, a human female by the name of Otilla Leadbar.

 

She had stood nearly his same height, with tight black curls. Her deep maroon eyes seemed to always be questioning the world around her, which fascinated Eli.

 

Studying in the library one day, he finally mustered up the courage to approach Otilla. There had many opportunities as much like Eli she could often be found reading alone, but today was the day! With a deep breath, Eli approached.

 

Otilla had been studying Outer Rim trade languages at the time, and despite Eli not being in such a class having passed the language exams already, he did have much interest in the subject. Eli brought this up as casually as he could, and this was taken to heart and near every afternoon from then on, the two would pour over linguistic texts.

 

Much like the patterns within mathematics, Eli found and admired the connections between languages. How they stemmed from one another, and how one could trace ancient trade routes through such studies, was beautiful to him. And Otilla was thrilled to finally have someone who spoke her languages, so to say.

 

These meetings went on for quite some time, until one day Eli received the assignment that he would be sent on a field trip for practical experience as a member of the crew of an imperial craft with several other supply track students from Myomar.

 

Otilla was a bit disappointed to loose her study mate, but understood the invaluable knowledge Eli would gain on this trip, and wished him safe travels. Eli left her with a soft smile and farewell in the language they had most recently examined, Sy Bisti.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at [ysalamiri-queen](http://ysalamiri-queen.tumblr.com)


	2. Day 2: Wild Space/Culture/Heritage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Eli recollects a cherished time in his childhood on Lysatra.

 

“Ensign Vanto, this is not a micro converter.”

 

Eli looked down to the sight before him, Lieutenant Thrawn bent over one of his prized Buzz Droids, with a hand extended. He peered back at Eli curiously. Looking down, Eli saw that in the extended hand was a battery.

 

“Right, sorry.” Eli replied, digging around in the box of parts before him for a micro converter. Finding one, he took the battery and gave the proper piece to Thrawn.

 

Thrawn took the micro converter with a subtle nod and turned, reaching into the core of the droid to perform the repair.

 

Eli’s mind quickly wandered back to his occupying thought, a memory of his home on Lysatra. As a child, he remembered vividly the annual Harvest Festival. At the end of the growing season, right before it was time to begin the harvest, the nearby rural district would host the event. Beings from the rural and urban areas alike would flock to the celebration.

 

Eli may of grew up in the outskirts of the city on his parent’s shipping base, but his favorite part of Lysatra as a child was the far off rural district, visible on the horizon from the second story of his home.

 

He looked forward to the event, and traveling there his eyes would be glued to the landscape when riding in his family’s landspeeder. His parents would rent a room from a local farmer, the huge plantation estate housing many of the families from the city. Eli often found his classmates in the hall, and they would race out to the festival grounds as soon as they opened each morning.

 

There would be game booths, all sorts of fresh made foods, and simple rides. Children would line up for nearly an hour for a chance to ride the harvester-powered swings, all excited for the experience and vibrating from a sugar rush. Live music would be projected across the fields, showcasing the latest teenage basement band or senior center instrument class.

 

Eli’s favorite aspect of the Harvest Festival, however, was the last day, as the closing of the event coincided with his birthday! His parents would treat him to all the credits he would like for sweets and games, and anything won by his friends would usually end up in his own pockets as near everyone forgot to bring a gift. Eli did not mind, however, as with this came a special memory attached to each trinket.

 

Looking down at the battery now in his hand, Eli remembered many similarly sized figures gained over the years.

 

“Is there something on your mind, Ensign Vanto?”

 

Eli quickly snapped back to attention, “I’m sorry?”

 

Thrawn turned his head to face him, “You are distracted?”

 

“Oh, just thinking about...” Eli paused, should he just tell the truth? He must of taken too long as Thrawn began again.

 

“The battery?”

 

Eli passed the small device over, “Thinking about home.” He decided on.

 

Thrawn gave him an almost understanding glance, “I see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at [ysalamiri-queen](http://ysalamiri-queen.tumblr.com)


	3. Day 3: Mathematics/Hidden Talents/Intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buzz Droid Blues!  
> Thrawn has completed the mechanical repairs, but the Buzz Droids still have a long ways to go... Good thing Eli is here to lend a helping hand!

Finally satisfied with his repairs, Thrawn stood up to examine the Buzz Droids. 

 

Eli approached, standing beside the Lieutenant, “It’s done, then?”

 

Thrawn shook his head, “No, it now requires testing. I am not sure if the programming is intact.”

 

“Ah, I see. Should we test it?” Eli asked, looking at the droids. Compared to the state of disrepair Thrawn had salvaged the two droids in, they looked fresh off of the assembly line. He could not imagine the droids not working at the flip of a power switch, but knew that looks could be deceiving.The hidden value of their doonium shells had allowed them to keep the Buzz Droids, after all.

 

“Yes.” Thrawn said, picking up the remote he had constructed for the droids. “I will command them to open the crate of parts.” Toggling a few switches on the control, the two Buzz Droids came to life, whirring gently and standing up from their slumped position on the floor. Thrawn and Eli observed them scuttle to the parts crate, and walk straight into it.

 

A metallic clang sounded upon impact and their small feet scraped at the floor. The crate did not budge and the droids made no progress in opening the crate as Thrawn allowed them to operate for a full minute.

 

Despite himself, Eli chuckled at the display. “They sure found that crate, alright.” He thought they looked like two drunkards trying to get into their landspeeder after a night out gambling, a humorous sight indeed.

 

Thrawn powered the droids down with a flick of a switch and looked at them for a while. The silence caused Eli’s chuckling to cease eventually.

 

“They will need new programming.” Thrawn conceded. “This is in the manual?”

 

Eli pulled out his datapad and scanned the contents of his downloaded droid manual, “I don’t think so... Yeah, there are only mechanical schematics here.”

 

“Very well. We must conduct additional research.”

 

Eli agreed, but knew this task was easier said than done when it came to outdated technology such as the Mark 1 droids before him. “Yeah, first we have bridge duty, though.”

 

The afternoon was a relatively uneventful patrol, and afterwords, Thrawn dove straight into research for information on programming the droids. Eli, on the other hand, fancied himself a nap.

 

When he awoke, the quarters he shared with Thrawn were dimly lit. He could hear even, deep breathing, Thrawn must be asleep. Eli was wide awake now and made up his mind to go tinker.

 

He found the Buzz Droids on the other side of the room from the crate, tangled together. Whatever attempt Thrawn had made to reprogram them, Eli thought, had proved to only worsen the situation.

 

So, Eli pulled out his datapad and sat in front of the console, getting to work on researching the programming and editing the code laid out previously by Thrawn.

 

Many hours and hundreds of calculations later, Eli disconnected the second droid from the console and began his test again for the twelfth time, commanding the droids to open the parts crate.

 

The now familiar mechanical whir of the droids powering on sounded, and they stood in place like a bunch of dazed nerf herders, Eli thought. With a groan, he threw his head back. Eli had undertaken the Herculean task of recalibrating their gyros, tuning their distance sensors, and rewriting binary into their memory cores, among other essential background functions. What else could he do!

 

Ready to admit defeat to the two archaic droids, Eli went to cut the power when, suddenly, he heard the tapping of metal feet on the floor. Turning to face the sound, the droids approached the parts crate, climbing on top of it in synch. Next, their intense inner mechanisms came to life with a hiss and they dove into the crate, drilling holes into the top and lowering themselves into the mess of parts within. Quieting then, they stood at attention within the crate, awaiting the next command.

 

“Well done, Ensign Vanto. You did not tell me that you were adapt at droid programming.”

 

With a gasp, Eli turned to the source of the compliment. Thrawn stood in the doorway with a slight smile.

 

Eli grinned back widely, “I’m really not- its just that binary makes sense to me, its mostly equations, really.”

 

“I noticed that.” Thrawn commented with what Eli identified as subtle annoyance.

 

Now, Eli realized, serving as aide to Thrawn required more than just the ability to translate Sy Bisti to Basic. He beamed, glad to of been able to solve a problem that even had stumped Thrawn with his unique abilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at [ysalamiri-queen](http://ysalamiri-queen.tumblr.com)


	4. Day 4: Thrawn/The Empire/Morality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buzz Droid Blues, part 2!  
> A demonstration of the newly restored droids is in order.

Eli walked with a gleam in his eye. Now having the Buzz Droids functional thanks to his programming work, and with Thrawn’s praise factored in, he felt on top of the galaxy.

Unfortunately, some of the other officers on the ship noticed this proud glow about him.

“Hey wild space!” One called.

Eli had to suppress a groan, good mood injured but not entirely lost. He continued walking.

“Where are you in such a rush to go? The rodeo?”

There was an eruption of chuckles behind him. Eli had half a mind to flip the switch on in his pocket and summon the buzz droids to scare off these jokers, but he knew that impulse could get him into serious trouble. So, with a hard-set face, he continued onwards to the mess.

His mood did not get better here as he noticed Thrawn sitting alone on the far wall. After getting his rations Eli sat across from the Chiss, who nodded to acknowledge his presence. He could not bring himself to avoid Thrawn, although he knew it would be better for his social standing.

“Something has gone wrong?” Thrawn asked him as he ate the bland rations. Eli sighed.

“Just the usual, these core world officers can’t help themselves when they see an easy target.”

Thrawn understood this struggle, he was probably the only other being on the whole ship who fully comprehended Eli’s plight.

“You wish to retaliate.” Thrawn commented, reading Eli perfectly.

“No… Well, yeah, but I can’t.” Eli conceded, mind wandering back to the operational Buzz Droids. “It’s against the rules.”

“How you wish to proceed perhaps, but is there an alternative?” Always thinking ahead, Eli thought about Thrawn. He considered this, was there a less direct way to strike back. Perhaps the Buzz Droids could be used for something else?

“The captain said she wanted the Buzz Droids working, right? Maybe we could give her a demonstration.” Eli offered, a sly grin crossing his face. Gaining favor with the captain could give Eli some much needed immunity from lower ranking officers looking for someone to pick on. And he knew the captain was more than enthused at the concept of having such valuable assets under her command.

Thrawn understood where Eli was going with the idea and agreed. The following day, the demonstration was arranged to show off one of the Buzz Droids. They agreed to wipe the second for now, just in case the captain intended to sell immediately upon being functional.

The task selected would be an impressive feat, boring through a piece of thick, dented bulkhead that Thrawn had discovered in the far corner of a storage area. The droid performed the task with great efficiency.

Eli found great satisfaction in seeing the faces of some of the more prejudiced officers turn to shock when he and Thrawn earned high praises for restoring such a useful (and valuable) droid from the captain.

After the room cleared out, Thrawn and Eli were tasked with cleaning up the droid’s mess of metal shards, such things could puncture the inner workings of the usual cleaner, a Mouse Droid.

“Ensign Vanto, much more can be accomplished when acting from the moral high ground than sweeping down to the offender’s level.” It was a standard that had gotten them far at the academy, and once again proven to stand true here.

Eli snickered, “Very funny, because right now we are, in fact, sweeping.”

He looked over to see an amused look from Thrawn, “Very true, Ensign.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at [ysalamiri-queen](http://ysalamiri-queen.tumblr.com)


	5. Day 5: Piloting/Ships/Traveling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli gets one more surprise than he expected on his 18th birthday! He's heading out, but to where?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys! I think that chapters 1-4 wrapped up that fun little Buzz Droid plot line quite well, and frankly that was all I had planned for it. Went a bit quicker than I had hoped... No worries!
> 
> The next prompt chapters will just be little one shots, I hope you enjoy it!

Leaving the Harvest Festival was always a sad time seeing that the festivities were over for the year. Eli shifted uncomfortably in the well-worn seat looking at his parents sat across from him in the shuttle, feeling perplexed. Normally, his family would take the land speeder back home, but today they boarded a city-bound commuter shuttle instead.

The day before had been his 18th birthday, and the normal celebration was proceeded. His father had offered a more mature alternative, but Eli insisted that a chunk of pocket change and free roam of the festival grounds with his friends was plenty. There had been no talk of an extra surprise.

But here they were, on the commuter shuttle, each stop taking them closer to the core of the city.

The roads grew more crowded, the sun squeezing in the cracks between the increasingly tall buildings. Eli felt claustrophobic looking out of the shuttle, so he focused instead on his hands. He held a small trinket- a bright orange articulated lizard. It was a carnival prize, made of plastoid, with a wriggling spine and flimsy tongue, yet Eli had found the thing charming enough to play ring toss at least fifteen times to win it. He admitted it had been more enticing hanging on a chain with fifty other colorful figures rather than on its own now, draped over his thumb.

The noise of the city grew louder with each intersection. People talking, land speeders passing by, and the electric hum of the power lines. Bored of his prize, Eli shoved it in his pocket with several other trifles and looked across the walkway again to his parents. They had perfected keeping a straight face from decades of playing card games with friends, so Eli was just as clueless as before, but he got a hint of their journey's end in the form of his father rising from his seat.

Eli did the same, as did his mother. He grabbed his luggage, slinging the heavy bag onto his back, and they exited the shuttle as it came to a stop. Only then did Eli learn their destination.

“Are we… At the spaceport?” He asked, astonished by the bustling terminal before him. His father dug around in his bag as his mother turned to him with a wide and knowing smile.

“Surprise!” She announced as his father found what he had wanted, and presented Eli with a brand new datapad.

“Take it, son.”

Mouth agape, Eli did so, and saw that it was activated. On the screen was a message.

“Go on, Eli, read it!” His mother probed. Eli began.

_“Eli Vanto you have been accepted to attend Myomar Imperial Academy. You will find enclosed in this message the location of the Imperial Lysatran Terminal and your date of departure...”_

Eli shook his head, “Wait, I never…”

His father placed his hand on his shoulder, “I know you have been wanting to go away to school for a while, so we applied for you. You are a smart man, Eli. The Empire can offer you much more off world than we can here on Lysatra.”

His mother chimed in, “It’s the least we could do! But if you don’t want to go we understand.”

Eli chucked, “What? No way, I love you guys so much! This is incredible!” Smiling warmly, he embraced his mother, “Thank you so much!”

She held him tightly.

“I told you he would say yes.” His father joked with a wink, holding out his hand. “You are supposed to report in soon, better get going.”

Eli took his hand enthusiastically, “Oh really? I better go then!” Next, he scrolled down on the datapad, “Station 26… Uh I’ll ask around where that is, probably a sign somewhere too.”

His mother got in one last hug, and a kiss on the cheek. “Keep in touch, Eli!” A tear was forming in the corner of her eye.

“Oh don’t embarrass him, honey.” His father grumbled.

Eli laughed softly, “It’s alright, I’ll write home when I can. Bye, then.” He said, getting one last look at his parents, and Lysatra, before passing through the doors into the spaceport, ready to start his Imperial career.


	6. Day 6: Csilla/Post Empire/Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another little slice-of-life style one shot, enjoy!

Eli closed the diary that Thrawn had left him for the hundredth time. He read it each night before bed like a prayer.

Tonight, however, something unexpected interjected itself into his ritual, a thin cylinder rolled out from the book and clattered onto the floor.

Understandably confused, Eli reopened the thick cover, and found that underneath the fabric inner binding there was a small, crudely carved out compartment the tube must have been placed inside.

Picking up the small item, Eli assessed it. The object was a glossy red with no markings, about four inches long, and thin enough to fit within a drinking straw. There was a seam about a third of the way along the base, but twisting the two halves seemed to do nothing, nor did pulling at either half elicit any result.

Setting the item down on the table aside him in the compact but comfortable bed chambers, Eli resigned to investigate it the next morning.

After his simple morning routine of a shower and shave, Eli walked to his station, eating a nutrition bar as he made his way through the large complex. Purposefully arriving early, he turned to his assistant in the busy hall and held up the red item.

“What exactly is this?”

A hush fell over the Chiss in the space, all gathering quickly around the human.

“Who gave this to you?” The assistant asked gently.

Suddenly anxious, Eli rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “Well, it fell out of the book Mitth’raw’nuruodo had gifted me.”

Several of the beings chuckled, the story of Eli’s arrival common knowledge by now.

“Eli, he proposed to you. And you accepted!” The assistant announced, a mischievous smile on her face. “We must use it immediately!”

Taking a step back, Eli felt a hot blush cross his cheeks. “Propose? With this? I didn’t even see it until now!”

“I suppose Mitth’raw’nuruodo just wanted to ensure you would remain loyal in his absence.” One of the onlookers suggested.

“Such an action fits his reputation.” Another added.

It made perfect sense to Eli, who sighed in resignation. “Well, what exactly do you mean by use it?”

 

* * *

 

Looking at himself in the mirror, Eli could not help but grin.

The fine, heated beam from the laser pen had hurt the delicate skin, but now that it was over with, the results were rather good.

Gingerly, he traced the bright red lines under his eyes, following the curve of his lower lid before arcing downwards at the corner, pointing to the center of his face and ending at a round point.

He wondered if Thrawn would ever have the chance to undergo the same procedure.


	7. Day 7: Your Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 was a free for all prompt, so I just wrote the first thing that came to mind after bouncing ideas back and fourth with friends. A bit of reading 'between the lines' back on Batonn to wrap up 7 days of Eli-centric fanfic!

“Now what?” Eli asked, having just finished talking with one of the freighters above Batonn, Scrim Island to be exact. He’d gotten his objective, an invitation to meet ‘the boss’ but there was much to do still.

“Now we prepare.” Thrawn announced, rising from his seat. “Stay with him and keep watch. I’ll be back in a moment.”

The Chiss disappeared into the hold of the captured smuggling ship. He returned not long later smelling of burnt fabric and shirtless.

Eli had to make a double-take. “Uh, Thrawn, what’s going on?”

“For you to be able to infiltrate planet side, you will need a disguise.” He replied simply. Eli realized his hands were slick with some kind of slime, and they were reaching out for his head!

“Hey now, I don’t like where those are going… THRAWN!” Still strapped into the pilot’s seat, Eli could only lean back so much, but soon enough the long blue digits made a disgusting squelching sound as they slid int his long, wavy hair.

“This is wrong on so many levels…” Eli muttered, sinking into his seat and accepting fate. He glanced up to find Thrawn wearing an amused smile as he toyed with long auburn locks.

After the cold gel warmed from being styled, Eli had to admit the sensation was not completely bad. That is, until Thrawn’s fingers snagged a knot and not-so-delicately tugged it out.

“Careful or you are going to make me bald!” Eli protested at one particularly strong jerk.

“Apologies, Eli, but it is necessary.”

“Is this really? Or is it an excuse to dress me up to your liking?”

Eli pretended not to notice the momentary pause in motion of Thrawn’s ministrations, he was caught red handed.

“The texture of your hair is quite unique and could give away your identity.”

“Sure. Are you done yet?”

A few passes later Thrawn nodded. “Yes, I believe I am finished.”

The Chiss took several steps back, but his face seemed to almost pale. “No, I am not finished.” He began to approach Eli again.

“Wait a minute.” Eli started, placing a palm against Thrawn’s chest to hold him back. He held up his datapad, using the blank screen like a mirror. His mouth opened but no words came out.

“I told you that I am not finished…”

Eli could not peel his eyes from the screen. His hold on Thrawn was useless seeing the Chiss had a considerably longer arm span, and he began adjusting Eli’s hair.

“I look like a loth-cat…” Eli pouted, staring at the two mounds currently being disassembled at the top of his skull. “What hair styles do you actually know how to do, be honest?”

“There is one.”

“One? Well, just do that, alright?”

“As you wish.”

With a sigh, Eli settled back in for another round of, well, whatever this was.

Not long later, Thrawn seemed satisfied with his work as he stepped back again. “There.”

Hesitantly, Eli brought up his datapad. His eyes darted from the smooth surface and back to Thrawn several times. “I should have figured the one hair style you know is the one I taught you back at the academy. Good job?”

Thrawn seemed appreciative of the praise. “Thank you, Eli. There is one more part to this… I will go get it.”

“Right…” Eli was immediately worried but figured not much could be worse than Thrawn’s first attempt at styling his hair.

Eventually, Thrawn returned with his own tunic draped over his arm, complete with a blaster burn in the center. What was he getting himself into now…


End file.
